What Shape Are Your Gospel Shoes In?

Introduction

What shape are your shoes in? Not the ones you wear on Sunday morning. The ones Paul talks about in Ephesians: "having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). In Greek, the word behind "preparation" can also be read as "readiness," "being on standby." So the question becomes stubbornly personal: how ready are you, really, to talk about Jesus?

This message from Timothée Serra, preached on Acts 12:25 through Acts 13:13, takes you into the church at Antioch, onto the roads of Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, and into the face-off with the magician Elymas. A whole community, praying and fasting, hears the Holy Spirit send out its two best workers. So, what shape are your shoes in?

Sermon Outline

1. Antioch: a community that lets the Holy Spirit speak

In chapters 11 and 12 of Acts, something unheard-of happens at Antioch. For the first time, Jewish believers start telling actual Gentiles about Jesus, not just "God-fearers" like Cornelius and his friends. It's here, in fact, that the disciples are first called Christianoi, Christians.

Luke lists what this community holds: prophets, teachers, evangelists. Looking ahead to what Paul will later write to the Ephesians ("he gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers," Ephesians 4:11), you notice two pieces are missing at Antioch: there's no apostle (they're all in Jerusalem) and no elders yet, no poimēn (shepherd), no episkopos, no presbyteros. The governance isn't sorted out yet.

That's probably why Jerusalem sends Barnabas, and why Barnabas then goes to fetch Paul from Tarsus. But the real point isn't the org chart. In this bubbling community, people are full of the Holy Spirit; they pray, they discern what God wants, and they obey him. And that's the foundation.

2. What is your way of life saying to the Holy Spirit?

Timothée Serra asks an uncomfortable question: "What do our church organizations say to the Holy Spirit?" Some communities use organization to paper over a lack of God's presence and of the Spirit's gifts. On paper it works, strategy gets made, recruiting happens, money gets managed. But the one essential thing is missing: God's presence in the heart.

The question applies to our churches, and it applies to you personally. Does your life say to the Holy Spirit, "Help, come, I need you," or does it say, "I'm fine, thanks, I've got this, see you Sunday morning"?

3. Sending out Paul and Barnabas: a community discernment

It's through prayer, fasting, and listening to God that the church at Antioch receives a conviction: "Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them." It's counterintuitive. Barnabas had been sent by the apostles to watch over this community. Paul had been recruited as an assistant. And now this small church with no settled governance sends out the apostles' own envoy, along with his right-hand man.

Have you ever heard the Holy Spirit's call in your own heart? Have you ever heard it for someone else? What's striking is that the conviction didn't come to just one person, it came to the whole community. When it's about someone else, God usually gives that conviction to more than one person.

Timothée testifies: "I've been studying theology for nearly ten years to become a pastor. I had the chance to cut down to four days a week. I prayed, and I received the conviction that it was God's will to set one day apart for him. I was worried financially. And you know what, God provided. When God calls, even if it looks strange, he provides behind the scenes."

4. The confrontation with Elymas: the gospel under tension

In Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas are invited to see the proconsul Sergius Paulus, "an intelligent man." But right next to the proconsul is Elymas Bar-Jesus, a magician using his influence to steer Sergius away from the faith. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, confronts him: "You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness... The hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind." Darkness falls immediately. The proconsul, struck by the Lord's teaching, believes.

Do you see yourself in this scene? Timothée admits, almost sheepishly: "My battle is Monday morning, when my coworkers ask me, 'How was your weekend?' My battle is not answering, 'It was good, same as always.' It's saying instead, 'Actually, something happened to me yesterday at church, God touched something in me.'" It's not on the same scale as Paul and Elymas. Around us, the gospel doesn't stir up much enthusiasm anymore, or much opposition either. It stirs up plain indifference. And our risk is catching that same lukewarmness.

5. Getting out of lukewarmness: four concrete paths

How do you recover from this lukewarmness? Timothée offers four supports, drawn from his own journey and from Antioch's.

1. Come back into relationship with God. Just like Antioch: prayer, fasting, listening. When is your next real, quality time with God?

2. Repent of the lukewarmness itself. That quiet, unnoticed habit of telling everyone about your weekend except what God did in it.

3. Come back to praise and gratitude. At the Church of the Resurrection, every service opens with the question: "What are you grateful to God for from this past week?" If you don't know what God has done in your life over the last seven days, how will you have good news to announce?

4. Let yourself be evangelized before you evangelize. You share the gospel in proportion to how much you've received it yourself. Timothée tells of a man who, after a sermon on freedom from addiction, quietly came up to him and said: "Ten years ago I was a drug addict. Overnight, I stopped. I'm sure it was God who helped me." "That day," Timothée says, "he evangelized me more than I evangelized him."

6. Evangelizing without falling into judgment or into a soft, toothless love

Evangelizing means showing the power of God's forgiveness given in Jesus for humanity's sins. Two traps lie in wait.

On one side, churches heavily geared toward judgment: "Once you've really repented, really humbled yourself, really confessed, then maybe..." On the other, churches so geared toward love that they forget to ever name sin. You have to aim for the exact point where Jesus himself stands.

Don't be afraid to confront sin, the way Paul does with Elymas. But you do it for someone's salvation, not for their condemnation. Paul writes to the Corinthians: "Godly sorrow produces a repentance which leads to salvation, and brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10). And here's a remarkable detail: what Paul imposes on Elymas (temporary blindness), is exactly what Paul himself lived through on the road to Damascus, and it led him to life.

On the other hand, loving sinners doesn't mean loving their sin. Jesus spent time with outcasts and the deviant. He loved them completely, without ever loving their sin. It's that double faithfulness (no numbing, no cruelty), that makes evangelism possible.

7. Taking the plunge: creativity and readiness

Timothée comes from a church family that gave up on evangelism in the mid-twentieth century, having confused it with proselytizing. So how do you start from zero, in a community that's "allergic" to it? You take the plunge. On June 21, 2024, the small team opened their church's garden, set up a barbecue, invited two musicians to make it look like they were joining in the Fête de la Musique. The neighbors showed up.

To help the community find the courage, they used a set of speed-dating-style cards with questions like "What does a good death look like to you?" or "What's your relationship with money?" Christians who were once terrified of evangelism found themselves starting spiritual conversations with neighbors passing by, and actually enjoying it.

At bottom, what matters is the state of your heart. Do you love your neighbors? And Paul reminds Timothy of exactly this: "God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7). Power to confront, like Paul with Elymas. Love to love, the way God loves. Wisdom to adapt to the person in front of you, just as Jesus himself became flesh to make himself recognizable among us.

Key Takeaways

• The "shoes" of readiness, in Greek, also mean "availability." The question isn't first about what you know how to do, but whether you're ready to walk.
• Antioch is the model of a bubbling church without full governance: what carries it is prayer, fasting, and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
• Missionary discernment is a community matter, God confirms an individual calling through the shared conviction of several people.
• Around you, the gospel mostly stirs up indifference, your greatest risk is catching that same lukewarmness.
• You evangelize in proportion to how much you've received the gospel yourself. Return to praise and gratitude before you head out on mission.
• Evangelizing means holding together God's judgment on sin and God's love that saves. Neither condemnation nor complacency.

Personal Application

• Monday morning, when a coworker asks how your weekend went, will you dare to name what God did in your life?
• When is your next real, quality time with God? Can you put it on your calendar this week?
• What are you specifically grateful to God for from the last seven days? Write it down, even if you have to think hard.
• Is there someone you carry a conviction of calling for? Can you talk it over with a brother or sister to discern it together?
• Who around you doesn't know Jesus yet? What can you do this week (a meal, a question, an invitation), to move toward them?

Scripture References

• Acts 12:25–13:13 · main text, the sending of Paul and Barnabas and the confrontation with Elymas
• Ephesians 6:15 · the shoes of readiness to preach the Good News of peace
• Ephesians 4:11–13 · apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers
• 1 Corinthians 9:16 · "Woe is to me if I don't preach the Good News"
• 2 Corinthians 7:10 · godly sorrow versus worldly sorrow
• 2 Timothy 1:7 · a spirit of power, love, and self-control

FAQ

What are "the shoes of readiness for the gospel"?

It's an image drawn from Ephesians 6:15, where Paul describes the Christian's armor. These shoes represent your readiness to announce the good news. The Greek word translated "preparation" can also be read as "readiness" or "eagerness." It's the state of heart of a Christian who is ready to walk in order to share Jesus.

How do I get out of lukewarmness in my evangelism?

Timothée Serra offers four supports: come back into relationship with God (prayer, fasting), repent of the lukewarmness itself, relearn daily praise and gratitude, and let yourself be evangelized before you evangelize. You announce the gospel in proportion to what you've received.

How do I evangelize without judging, but without watering it down either?

Evangelizing means showing both God's judgment on sin and his saving love at the same time. The test is simple: when you name sin, it's to lead someone toward life, the way Paul does with Elymas, never to condemn or exclude. Jesus loved sinners completely, without ever loving their sin.